Press Room

April 17, 2011

Category:

Speaker Boehner Endorses Cutting DOJ Funding to Defend Discrimination

Republican leadership further politicizes loving, married couples to score cheap political points.

Washington - Today the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, strongly criticized Speaker John Boehner for endorsing a right-wing plan to defund part of the Department of Justice because of the Obama Administration's thoughtful analysis that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. The Speaker made his position known in response to a letter from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi who had originally questioned the cost of the House's intervention in the cases. Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese issued the following statement:

"The House Republican Leadership continues to show that they're more interested in scoring cheap political points on the backs of same-sex couples than tackling real problems. As Americans across the country continue to struggle, Speaker Boehner's prescription has been to keep families he doesn't like from accessing needed protections. To add insult to injury, he's now signed on to a right-wing plan to cut funding for the Department of Justice.

"A far right fringe may be calling for a defense of DOMA, but doing so is sure to turn off independent voters. If the Speaker wants to make the lives of Americans better, he should spearhead repeal of DOMA, not waste time and resources defending it."

It is also expected that the House Republican Leadership will officially seek to intervene today in a New York case challenging the constitutionality of DOMA.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

Sort Press Releases

Contact HRC:

To contact HRC please visit our contact us page. If you are a member of the media, you can reach our press office at: (202) 772-3889 or email press@hrc.org.

Top 5 Things to Know About LGBT Issues

There are roughly 9 million LGBT people in the US and more than 650,000 same-sex couples.

19% of same-sex couples are raising children according to the US Census Bureau's 2011 American Community Survey.

There is no federal law that consistently protects LGBT individuals from employment discrimination; there are no state laws in 29 states that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, and in 32 states that do so based on gender identity.

More than 100 anti-LGBT bills have been filed in 29 state legislatures.

Marriage equality became the law of the land in June 2015 after the Supreme Court of the United States found bans on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional-and that the fundamenal right to marriage is a fundamental right for all.